The Pelicans' situation has been unstable ever since the franchise relocated from Charlotte in 2002, and especially since Katrina. This excruciating state of limbo unfortunately defines the Pelicans. It's difficult to say where they belong.

You get the sense Ralph Sampson, if he had been designed by NASA engineers rather than a cruel god, still would have ended up as one of the great Yeah, But guys of his generation: an immensely gifted, lightly snakebitten antecedent to Vince Carter and Chris Webber.

Tacko Fall has an uncertain NBA future. His massive frame of 7 feet, 6 inches, soft hands, and above average athleticism for a guy his size makes him an intriguing prospect.

However, he still has a lot of work to do to actually stick with the Boston Celtics or in the NBA. In an effort to do that, he’ll be back in Boston in the coming days to begin regular workouts at the team’s practice facility.

Fall had been in Senegal, where he was on the preliminary roster for the Senegalese national team. Senegal announced its official roster Thursday, which didn’t include Fall.

Despite widespread reports that he had been cut, it was never Fall’s intention to play for his national team in the FIBA World Cup. He had traveled back to his home country for the first time in seven years for a Basketball Without Borders event and a visit with his family.

“For me it’s about going around the neighborhoods, seeing where I came from, and just kind of reflecting on how far I came,” Fall recently told the Boston Globe. “I think that will honestly give me more encouragement to keep pushing and keep inspiring people from Senegal and Africa and be the best I possibly can and continue to strive so I can have a long career in the NBA.”

Fall became a summer league phenomenon during the Celtics’ run in Las Vegas last month. Since then he’s forged close friendships with his fellow Boston Celtics rookies, even getting a FaceTime call from Grant Williams from the field in Fenway Park before throwing out a first pitch on Tuesday.

Fall went undrafted out of the University of Central Florida, and signed an “Exhibit 10” contract with the Boston Celtics, which allows him to be part of training camp. If Boston sees enough promise in him to want to keep his exclusive rights, they’d have to sign him to a guaranteed contract (they have one roster spot available), or upgrade one of their two-way players (Max Strus and Tremont Waters) to a guaranteed deal and give Fall the open two-way slot.

I think they're saying "guaranteed" when they mean NBA contract and that they collect at least few regular season paychecks. I dont see why it would be guaranteed all season

Tacko Fall has an uncertain NBA future. His massive frame of 7 feet, 6 inches, soft hands, and above average athleticism for a guy his size makes him an intriguing prospect.

However, he still has a lot of work to do to actually stick with the Boston Celtics or in the NBA. In an effort to do that, he’ll be back in Boston in the coming days to begin regular workouts at the team’s practice facility.

Fall had been in Senegal, where he was on the preliminary roster for the Senegalese national team. Senegal announced its official roster Thursday, which didn’t include Fall.

Despite widespread reports that he had been cut, it was never Fall’s intention to play for his national team in the FIBA World Cup. He had traveled back to his home country for the first time in seven years for a Basketball Without Borders event and a visit with his family.

“For me it’s about going around the neighborhoods, seeing where I came from, and just kind of reflecting on how far I came,” Fall recently told the Boston Globe. “I think that will honestly give me more encouragement to keep pushing and keep inspiring people from Senegal and Africa and be the best I possibly can and continue to strive so I can have a long career in the NBA.”

Fall became a summer league phenomenon during the Celtics’ run in Las Vegas last month. Since then he’s forged close friendships with his fellow Boston Celtics rookies, even getting a FaceTime call from Grant Williams from the field in Fenway Park before throwing out a first pitch on Tuesday.

Fall went undrafted out of the University of Central Florida, and signed an “Exhibit 10” contract with the Boston Celtics, which allows him to be part of training camp. If Boston sees enough promise in him to want to keep his exclusive rights, they’d have to sign him to a guaranteed contract (they have one roster spot available), or upgrade one of their two-way players (Max Strus and Tremont Waters) to a guaranteed deal and give Fall the open two-way slot.

I think they're saying "guaranteed" when they mean NBA contract and that they collect at least few regular season paychecks. I dont see why it would be guaranteed all season

That at least is my understanding of an Exh. 10--if they want to keep him for their roster after camp the contract concerts to a regular, one-year, guaranteed minimum contract.

Tacko has to beat out Green for last roster spot or he will be a Red Claw. I think Strus and Waters are staying as 2 ways so team can stash for a year. Tacko is on the bubble because of his poor fit for modern NBA. This 538 article on Hibbert might as well have been written about Tacko.

sam_I_am »2017:Kyrie isn't much of an upgrade over IT and he is **** crazy. Demands to be traded after 3 finals passing on supermax to go to Knicks. More talent around than IT did 2 yrs ago, no playoffs until Lebron came.Kyrie cant hold leads w/o Lebron.

sam_I_am wrote:Tacko has to beat out Green for last roster spot or he will be a Red Claw. I think Strus and Waters are staying as 2 ways so team can stash for a year. Tacko is on the bubble because of his poor fit for modern NBA. This 538 article on Hibbert might as well have been written about Tacko.

sam_I_am wrote:Tacko has to beat out Green for last roster spot or he will be a Red Claw. I think Strus and Waters are staying as 2 ways so team can stash for a year. Tacko is on the bubble because of his poor fit for modern NBA. This 538 article on Hibbert might as well have been written about Tacko.

Me too. I really like him and hope he proves all the doubters wrong. It’s a strange new era.....even Bol Bol is only getting a 2 way deal from Denver.

sam_I_am »2017:Kyrie isn't much of an upgrade over IT and he is **** crazy. Demands to be traded after 3 finals passing on supermax to go to Knicks. More talent around than IT did 2 yrs ago, no playoffs until Lebron came.Kyrie cant hold leads w/o Lebron.

sam_I_am wrote:Tacko has to beat out Green for last roster spot or he will be a Red Claw. I think Strus and Waters are staying as 2 ways so team can stash for a year. Tacko is on the bubble because of his poor fit for modern NBA. This 538 article on Hibbert might as well have been written about Tacko.

Me too. I really like him and hope he proves all the doubters wrong. It’s a strange new era.....even Bol Bol is only getting a 2 way deal from Denver.

Coaches and general managers are sheep. They follow the leader. Golden state small ball. I'm not sure if people have ever watched these big boss types. I have been able to just sit back and watch they all seemed like brain dead sheep to me. Really quite funny to watch them and their families.

I think with most NBA players it is not smart to play these meaning less games. I think Tacko screwed up. He was kicking ass on world wide TV against great players shooting like 70% and hitting his foul shots. Would be hard for Brad to send him to Maine or keep him on the bench.

Tiny ball wrote:Coaches and general managers are sheep. They follow the leader. Golden state small ball. I'm not sure if people have ever watched these big boss types. I have been able to just sit back and watch they all seemed like brain dead sheep to me. Really quite funny to watch them and their families.

Danny is not a perfect GM, but he isn't a sheep. He signs and drafts players that other GMs don't even consider.

zoyathedestroya wrote:Enquiring minds would like to know... when did Tacko's parents stop calling him Tackuito? At four years old? When he started walking and dunking on a Nerf hoop? At two months old?

We're talking about Elhadji Tacko Sereigne Diop Fall here. Did they even remember that Tacko was one of his given names?

It a very long article so there's a lot more, but here's a few mostly basketball related highlights:

In school, Fall’s transition was more seamless. He spoke English better than anyone expected and as a child was a self-described “computer nerd.” He took the SAT about three weeks after arriving in Florida, and Wettstein said he scored in the 95th percentile.

The Celtics had been tracking Fall for several years and had even held a predraft workout for him after his sophomore season, before he decided to return to school. They were a bit surprised that he was not selected, but they were hopeful that they would now have a chance.

He runs the floor well for his size and his conditioning has improved, and he finishes efficiently enough in the post that he must be accounted for. But his free throw shooting remains poor and he sometimes struggles to defend pick-and-pop big men, and in the modern NBA they are everywhere. More physical players are capable of overpowering him, too.

“I think that if we really wanted to tailor things over a long season for him, he could be even better,” Ainge said. “It would probably take a willingness to do that, because he does have some pronounced strengths that can be utilized to your advantage if we are willing to change some things for him.”

Fall has been working with skills trainer Drew Hanlen, who counts Celtics forward Jayson Tatum among his high-profile clients. Hanlen said he has tried to keep the workload simple, focusing on Fall’s balance, screen setting, hook shots, and free throw shooting.

Hanlen believes that Fall is “for sure” an NBA player, but said he still needs some development. The challenge is that he will be trying to make a roster in a little more than one month, so they have had to expedite the process a bit.

sam_I_am wrote:Tacko has to beat out Green for last roster spot or he will be a Red Claw. I think Strus and Waters are staying as 2 ways so team can stash for a year. Tacko is on the bubble because of his poor fit for modern NBA. This 538 article on Hibbert might as well have been written about Tacko.